New data on quarantine pests and pests of the EPPO Alert List

By browsing through the literature, the EPPO Secretariat has extracted the following new data concerning quarantine pests and pests included on the EPPO Alert List. The situation of the pest concerned is indicated in bold, using the terms of ISPM no. 8.

New geographical records

Barley yellow dwarf luteovirus is reported for the first time from Tunisia. It was found in all surveyed regions: Beja, Bizerte, Cap-Bon, Jendouba, Le Kef, Siliana, Zaghouan (Makkouk et al., 2001). Present, in the major cereal-growing regions.

Diaporthe phaseolorum var. caulivora (Ascomycetes, Diaporthales), causing soybean stem canker, is reported for the first time from Argentina, at Oliveros, Santa Fe. In the fields where samples were collected, the disease incidence reached 76 % (Pioli et al., 2001). Present, found in 1999 near Santa Fe.

The Phytophthora root rot disease of alder (formerly on the EPPO Alert List) was first found in Italy. Seedlings of Alnus cordata growing in a nursery in northern Toscana were found naturally infected by the Phytophthora species. The disease caused wilting and mortality (Santini et al., 2001). Present, found in one nursery in northern Toscana.

Citrus tristeza closterovirus (EPPO A2 quarantine pest) is reported for the first time from the western area of Palestinian West Bank; it was not found in the eastern part of West Bank (Jarrar et al., 2000).

Ditylenchus dipsaci (EPPO A2 quarantine list) is reported from the Aegean region of Turkey on narcissus (Borazanci ; Çinarli, 1996), and from the Province of Amasya in the Black Sea region on onion, Allium cepa (Mennan ; Ecevit, 2001).

A recent survey on the distribution of potato cyst nematodes (EPPO A2 quarantine pests) in England and Wales (GB), showed that Globodera species were present in 64 % of sampled sited. Of the populations found, 67% were pure G. pallida, 8 % were pure G. rostochiensis and 25 % contained both species. These results showed an increase in potato cyst nematodes incidence and a shift towards G. pallida as the dominant species (Minnis et al., 2000).

Impatiens necrotic spot tospovirus (EPPO A2 quarantine pest) has been found in 1999 and 2000 on peanut (Arachis hypogaea) in Georgia, US (Wells et al., 2001).

A study on tospoviruses in Greece, showed that Tomato spotted wilt tospovirus occurs in the prefectures of Drama, Pieria (near Katerini) and Xanthi. Impatiens necrotic spot tospovirus was not found (Chatzivassiliou et al., 2001).

In Iran, severe leaf and stem necrosis was observed in potato fields of Firuzkuh (Tehran Province) during summer 1998. Tomato spotted wilt tospovirus was detected in affected potato crops. This is the first report of this virus on potato in Iran, although its presence was reported from ornamental crops in the Tehran Province (near Tehran and Absard) (Pourrahim et al., 2001).

In 2000, Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni (EPPO A2 quarantine pest) has spread in Gard and Drôme (southeast of France), essentially on peach but also on apricot and plum (Breniaux, 2001).

Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni (EPPO A2 quarantine pest) occurs in the State of New York, US (Heidenreich et al., 2001)

Spathiphyllum is reported as a new natural host of Impatiens necrotic spot tospovirus (EPPO A2 quarantine pest). Diseased plants were observed in a greenhouse in Toscana, Italy, in September 1999 (Materazzi ; Triolo, 2001).

European Union funding:
For a three-year period (2018-12-11 to 2021-12-10), EPPO has been awarded an EU grant for the further development of the EPPO code system (agreement nb: SANTE/2018/G5/EPPO/SI2.793173). The EU Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information from this project subsequently included in the EPPO Global Database.